UNBOUND

The trio stood frozen still as their end arrived. The missile came down like a falling star, its light burning into their eyes until it was all they could see.

Will's last thoughts were for his family, wrenched raw from his throat. But he forgot one that had been with him this whole time, and his call didn't go unanswered.

"Damn brat!"

A wrathful roar filled the command channel as a streak of cobalt light shot across Will's HUD, cutting through the flare of white.

Damian tore through the avenue like a comet, contrails of psionic waves streaming behind him. His mech hit full thrust, boosters flaring as he surged upward, sabers drawn straight toward the descending missile.

A sharp metallic shriek rang out as his saber cut clean through the missile mid-descent. It split apart in a flash of molten light; two bisected halves veering off in opposite directions before slamming into the buildings on either side.

BOOM!

Twin fireballs erupted, flanking the avenue in pillars of fire. The shockwaves rippled outward, heat blooming like a rising sun.

Will watched in awe as Damian stood amidst the flames, his cobalt-blue mech radiating power. The air shimmered around the machine as it reflected the raging fire.

"Tara!" Damian barked.

"On it." Lawson's voice cut through the comms. Her mech blurred into motion, the massive anti-tank rifle braced against her shoulder. The muzzle flashed as she fired at a blistering rate.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One by one, missiles detonated mid-air, exploding in fiery bursts. Lawson's silhouette flickered with impossible speed as she kept up her fire rate; stuttering between positions, each shot a thunderclap. Broken missile parts rained down on the avenue like molten hail as she set the sky aflame.

Chaos erupted in the backlines. The rest of the merc leaders didn't sit still during Lawson's furious assault.

Three more colossal fields descended on the highway as the remaining mercenary leaders revealed themselves in full.

Farris's booming voice broke through the comms' static.

"All units, get to cover! Bunker down, now!"

The corona of power around his mech expanded as he charged toward the convoy line. Yacob joined him, while Natalia zipped around the edges of the road, urging the squads to brace themselves, slight panic tinging her voice.

Will watched, dumbstruck, as the mercenary leaders desperately rushed the convoy. Through his half-sight, he saw the Revenant shadows writhing in agony as their strings were pulled taut and the world around them tinged scarlet.

Will shuddered. His shard began to stir in anticipation as he bathed in the bloody light.

"Will, what's wrong?" asked Becca, shaking him.

"Bishop," he gasped, as the scarlet domain descended.

An ocean of blood bubbled forth, its crimson light flooding the sky.

From the center of the convoy came a terrible groan, metal shrieking, as one of the massive cargo boxes split open down the middle. Hydraulic arms snapped free, twisting outward as something inside forced its way out.

The field pressure shot through the roof, and every mech on the highway staggered under the sudden, crushing pressure. Alarms wailed. The ground itself shuddered.

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Will's eyes burned as the shadow world took over. The real gave way to the immaterial as a massive, many-limbed shape hauled itself onto the truck.

The spider mech was beyond description. Will couldn't trust his lying eyes. Part machine, part abomination, it was more animal than construct, a monstrous hybrid of steel and flesh. Countless limbs, multiple eyes, drenched in blood. Its form shifted with each movement, steam and gore spraying from ruptured tubing where coolant was supposed to flow.

Cables hung from its abdomen like torn entrails, twitching with each motion. Will tried to tear himself free, but the shadow world clung to him. Resistance was futile.

The nightmarish creature rose onto its hind legs, its silhouette framed against the burning highway, and inhaled with a deep mechanical rasp.

Then it screamed.

The sound hit like a shockwave, an ear-splitting, bone-rattling sonic blast that sent debris flying.

Will staggered backward. Warning lights strobed across his HUD as every comm and electronic system glitched out. The signals scrambled; every voice on the network broke into distorted fragments before dissolving into a screeching mechanical buzz.

"Dammit!" Will yelled as he began cycling his field. It was like trying to fight an ocean with his bare hands.

The scarlet haze pressed down, thick and suffocating, until a thunderous roar cut through the chaos.

Farris shot forward. His mech blazed like a miniature sun as it broke through the blood-red gloom.

For a heartbeat, the two leaders locked gazes, two titans staring across a battlefield drenched in ruin.

Then both vanished in a burst of light.

BOOM!

The titanic clash hit with the force of a missile. The shockwave flattened everything in its path. The impact tore chunks from nearby buildings, sent mechs tumbling, and shattered the asphalt beneath their feet. Will's HUD flared with warnings as his sensors struggled to keep up. The duo blurred into streaks of light and sound, moving faster than the tracking algorithms could follow.

"By the All Mother…" Remy breathed, his voice trembling as the sky flashed gold and red again and again. Each collision was thunderous, carving new craters into the earth. The sheer level of violence was unreal. No one could get close. Every attempt to advance was met by shockwaves that hurled entire squads back.

Everyone had to pull back and let the two duke it out—everyone except two lonely figures. Will watched Yacob and Natalia silently dart forward, preparing to flank the Spider.

Their movements, however, hadn't gone unnoticed. The Revenant in the convoy stirred. The armored escort doors swung open, and four colossal cyborgs stepped out.

Will's eyes went wide as he took in the towering metal men, each nearly the size of a heavy mech, their bodies bristling with hydraulics and armor plating. There wasn't a single patch of flesh left unaltered, every trace of humanity replaced by metal. They had transformed themselves completely.

Yacob and Natalia, sensing the danger, immediately broke off and redirected their attack toward the heavy cyborgs.

The machine-men accepted the challenge, and the fighting began. Two cyborgs against one mech. The ensuing clash only added to the chaos.

Will, Remy, and Becca braced themselves as the road ahead went up in flames. The violent clash sent wind buffeting their way, threatening to knock them off balance. Their mechs groaned under the pressure of the colliding fields as the titans went to war.

"Holy hell! We can't get anywhere near that!" Remy yelled over the din. The ground shook beneath them as the battle raged on.

"Is the plan still on?" Becca asked, gesturing toward the convoy.

Will grimaced, raising one armored hand against the gale. The wind tore at his mech, forcing him back half a step.

"We need to go in!" Will shouted. "While everyone's distracted!"

Remy inclined his head. "How are you gonna get past that? We can't move an inch in this mess!"

"We're going to have to take a roundabout route!" Will yelled back. "Get off the highway, then take the side streets and swing around behind the convoy!"

Remy braced himself. "Becca?"

"I'm in," she nodded.

"Alright!" Remy said. "The moment we see an opening, we move."

The three huddled low, waiting for a break in the tremors. Will sat ready, muscles taut, when Becca tapped his chest plate.

"Wait," she said sharply. "The haulers are moving."

Will's stomach dropped. The engines that had lain silent until now roared to life. The ground vibrated as the colossal trucks began to roll, their massive tires crushing debris beneath their treads.

"What the…" Remy began. "Are they—?"

"They're making a break for it!" Will hissed. He tried to access his comms but came away with static. Across the field, the merc leaders caught on but were pinned down.

The haulers roared to life, engines screaming as they tore through the chaos. One ripped past a burning wreck, flinging molten shrapnel; another mowed down a squad of troopers, bodies tossed beneath grinding wheels.

Horns blaring, the haulers barreled straight toward them.

"Oh, shit! They're coming right at us!" Remy shouted.

Will spun, eyes wide. The monsters closed fast, headlights blazing through fire and smoke.

"Move!" Becca screamed.

They sprinted as the haulers thundered closer, pavement cracking beneath their wheels. The ground shook as the lead truck smashed through the median and into their cover.

CRASH!

The blast hurled them aside as the building crumbled, vanishing in a roar of collapsing concrete.

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